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Man Caught Impersonating Sheriff’s Deputy: Harvey Police

(STMW) — A man was charged Thursday with impersonating a Cook County sheriff’s deputy in south suburban Harvey.

Jay Campbell, 28, was driving about noon on Main Street in Harvey when plainclothes officers saw him use his Nissan, equipped with isolated red and blue lights, to pull over another driver, according to Harvey police.

Jay Campbell (Harvey Police)

Campbell got out of his vehicle and approached the other driver as if to perform a traffic stop, at which point he noticed the police vehicle and drove away, police said. The officers followed, eventually pulling him over and taking him into custody.

He was dressed in police hiking boots and a black Cook County sheriff’s shirt with a badge sewn into the fabric, police said. Officers also recovered the lights from his vehicle, police said. No weapons were found.

Harvey police say a suspect was wearing clothing items that made him appear to look like a Cook County Sheriff’s deputy. (Harvey Police)

Detectives used the “Critical Reach” system to circulate Campbell’s photo to every police agency within the state, police said. This confirmed that Campbell wasn’t a certified police officer.

He was charged with impersonation of a police officer, illegal use of oscillating lights, and driving with a suspended driver’s license/no insurance, police said.